


we are the reckless, we are the wild youth

by toooldtotrickortreat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Introspection, Light Angst, Post-Canon, lily albus scorpius and george are really only mentioned, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:19:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27224134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toooldtotrickortreat/pseuds/toooldtotrickortreat
Summary: alternate title: harry potter realises he was a literal child when he was told to win a war for all of wizarding (and man) kind
Relationships: Harry Potter & James Sirius Potter, Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	we are the reckless, we are the wild youth

“James Sirius Potter!”

As with every other graduating student so far, James strides up to where Headmistress McGonagall stands, feigning relief but barely containing a soft smile, to a cacophony of noise. The loudest of it, naturally, coming from the family section at the back where his parents and a select few of his aunts and uncles sit (not all of them; there are simply too many). His sister, Lily, jumps up from her spot, a burst of energy from the only polite clapping of her fellow third years. His brother, Albus, and Albus’ best friend Scorpius, also jump to their feet, cheering loudly and giving a mild shock to their own year by being so loud when usually they stick to the background.

Harry watches proudly, tears in his eyes and hands sensitive from applauding, as his eldest son receives his certificate. Both James and Minerva turn to the photographer, and after the flash of the bulb goes off, James beams at the crowd and pumps his fist into the air. Ginny, grinning wildly, hollers, as do the rest of their-generation Weasleys who are present. The rest of the graduating class laugh and James’ closest friends raise their fists too.

As James (as well as his other children plus Scorpius, who Harry didn’t even know cared about his elder son that much) sits down and the crowd sobers for only a moment before the next student is called, Harry casts his gaze over his three kids before his smile suddenly drops. No one notices, too busy paying attention to the ceremony, which Harry is grateful for somewhere in the back of his mind. At the forefront is a realisation he can’t escape.

His children are so innocent, so pure, so  _ young _ . And, though he didn’t realise it at the time, so was Harry, back when he was in school.

When he was Lily’s age, he was being told by everyone around him that the man who supposedly gave his parents up to Voldemort was now after him. He found out his godfather had been framed, the man who could have raised him and saved him those years of abuse and neglect at the hands of the Dursleys, had been set up by a different friend of his parents.

In his fifth year, Albus’ year, he was barely dealing with the trauma of the graveyard, watching Cedric die and duelling with a newly-risen Voldemort. He was being ignored by Dumbledore and having constant nightmares and watched as Sirius died right before his eyes.

(He knew what Albus was dealing with after last year. He knew it all too well and he hated little more than the fact that his son had been put through even a fraction of what Harry had dealt with.)

Harry never got to graduate, not like James is doing now. He technically could have gone back for his supposed “eighth year”, but that didn’t feel like an option at the time. He didn’t need to, so he didn’t. Part of him wishes he did, but he also knows there was no way he could have coped with NEWTs at the same time as attempting to nurse his mental health back to normal. Instead of getting to graduate, to ride the boats back over the lake and look out at Hogwarts for the final time as a student, he walked to his death. Fought and won a war only mere circumstance had thrust him into.

He does not resent his children for getting the childhood he wishes he had. Of course not. What he went through made him who he is, and he’s just grateful that his children get to live in a world where they will not be faced with the horrors he did when he was their age. Hopefully, because of what Harry and his friends (his family) had done, no child would ever have to go through that again.

When the ceremony concludes, Harry stumbles out with the other parents quite numbly. Ginny and George, who has attended and plans to continue attending every single graduation of the new-generation Weasleys (Potters included), are speaking animatedly. Ron, who was also in attendance glances around for Harry and frowns when he sees him stumbling along staring at the ground, decidedly unhappy.

“Alright, mate?” he asks, grabbing Harry by the shoulder. Harry looks up at him and sighs.

“We were only kids,” he says, sounding exhausted beyond his years. Ron’s gaze softens. “They’re so young.  _ We _ were so young. We shouldn’t have been fighting for our lives all those years.”

“I know,” Ron tells him. “Trust me, I know.”

A few minutes of milling about the grounds, the seven years come bursting from the front doors towards their family. Naturally, James is one of the last, swaggering along with his two best friends. Harry had been firecalled regarding ‘behavioural issues’ enough times to be fairly certain that the trio was precisely the same as the Marauders had been.

After the other two boys have left to find their own parents, James continues his stride with a smirk on his face until he’s only a few feet away from Harry. There’s a moment of silence, then James is hugging his father fiercely. Harry responds with just as strong arms He sees Ginny in his peripheral vision, who watches the pair with a warm smile.

“I’m so proud of you, son,” he murmurs, basically into James’ shoulder. His son had grown to be taller than him a long time ago.

“Thanks, dad.”

**Author's Note:**

> jk rowling is a terf. watch me write a sequel to this where albus and scorpius declare their undying love in front of everyone. that's all i have to say. i hope you enjoyed whatever this was


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